


Mixed Doubles

by ddagent



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Cersei is Maris, Comedy, Doppelganger, F/M, Frasier AU, Friendship, No Incest, Past Cersei Lannister/Jaime Lannister, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26682988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddagent/pseuds/ddagent
Summary: Jaime Lannister has been pining for his father's physical therapist for three years. When he waits to make his move, Brienne ends up meeting a man – a man who looks rather like him. A JB Frasier AU.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 35
Kudos: 137





	Mixed Doubles

**Author's Note:**

> I'd been brainstorming a Frasier AU for a while, and some amazing Anon prompted me to do it. So here we are! This is a remix of the Frasier episode Mixed Doubles (4.06). I've borrowed a few lines of dialogue from that episode, but not a lot as some can only be achieved by the comedic power of David Hyde-Pierce. I hope you enjoy!

“So, things seem to be going well with you and Melara.” 

Jaime smiled indulgently at his brother, before stealing a glance into the open plan living room where his date for the evening was keeping the fearsome Tywin Lannister enthralled. “They are. She’s a wonderful woman.”

Certainly, a better woman than his estranged wife, the fearsome Cersei Lannister. Melara was sweet where Cersei had been sharp; cute where his wife had been beautiful. Of course, neither had held a candle to the Maiden currently in his brother’s employ. _Brienne Tarth._ Tall, strong, with eyes the colour of the deepest ocean and a temperament to match. He’d been besotted since the moment he’d first met Brienne, and his feelings had refused to change in the last three years. 

“And you wouldn’t have met her if you’d gone through with your _ridiculous_ plan to ask Brienne out on a date.”

The recent end of Brienne’s relationship with handyman Tormund had given Jaime _ideas._ Ideas of asking her to dinner, the theatre, a sept so they could be wed. Both his father and brother had questioned his judgement; Tyrion asking him to simply wait a day. When his brother’s producer, Margaery, had found Brienne a date at a single’s bar during that _day,_ a heartbroken Jaime had sought solace at that same bar. He’d found Melara there. And she _was_ a wonderful woman. 

Just not Brienne. 

As the brothers moved from the kitchen into the living room, the front door to Tyrion’s penthouse opened. In walked Brienne, a vision in a blue dress, accompanied by a tall man with golden curls, wearing a well-dressed suit and a cut-glass jaw. “Sorry to interrupt; I just forgot the play tickets. Everyone, this is Jason Hill, my date for the evening.” 

Ever the gentleman, Jaime was the first to shake the man’s hand while his father and brother just stared. This _Jason Hill_ had a firm grip, but Jaime held himself well enough. “Pleasure. Jaime Lannister; head chef at _Oathkeeper_.”

“Good to meet you. I’ve dined there a few times; your food is exquisite. A touch overpriced, perhaps, but one has to make money somewhere.” 

They exchanged tight, leonine smiles; both toying with their hair after their hands fell by their sides. Jaime went to attend to Melara, while this _Jason Hill_ stayed by Brienne’s side while she introduced him to the rest of Jaime’s family: the former lawyer and the television chef. Father, sitting in his antique armchair that looked entirely out of place in his brother’s minimalist décor, exchanged a curious look with Tyrion. 

“Well, isn’t this... _pleasant._ ” Tyrion offered; his voice strained. _“_ Brienne, Jason, do you have time for a coffee before the play?” Brienne nodded. “Excellent. I’ve been dying to debut a set of antique china cups featuring portraits of all the ancient Kings of Westeros. My antiquities dealer just found a King Robert Baratheon to complete the set. Father, would you like to help me?”

Tywin Lannister rose to his feet, balancing his weight on the cane he gripped with his right hand. The two, who usually spent more time arguing than anything else, seemed to fall in conspiratorial whispers as they made their way to the kitchen. Jaime, maintaining a polite façade in Brienne’s presence, enquired after this _Jason Hill_. Apparently, he was an exercise freak who competed in marathons, spent far too much money on hair products, and planned historical re-enactments in his spare time. As well as being a vain bore, he was also rude as fuck. Brienne deserved better, that much he was sure.

Making his excuses, Jaime joined his father and brother in the kitchen who were still in their hushed exchange. “Everything alright with you two? I haven’t seen you both getting on so well since the celebratory dinner when I left Cersei.”

Both of them fell silent. After a moment, his father ventured a thought. “Son, does Jason... _remind_ you of anyone?”

Jaime ruminated on the idea for a moment; the blonde hair reeked of Lannister ancestry, but you couldn’t swing Lann, Father’s cat, without hitting a Lannister in Lannisport. Just then, Jason joined them in the kitchen. “Just to say, I like my coffee with plenty of whole milk, four teaspoons of sugar, and a squirt of whipped cream if you have any.”

Tyrion swallowed; blatantly holding back a laugh. “Of course. That’s…quite an unusual drink order.”

Brienne’s date shrugged. “What can I say? There’s no one quite like me. Just me.”

The half-penny dropped, and Jaime had the sudden urge to throw himself in front of a fire-breathing dragon. Anything other than face _this_ realisation. As Jason re-joined Brienne and Melara in the living room, Jaime gripped the kitchen island and tried not to scream. “Oh, _Gods_!”

“Now, Jaime, this isn’t something to get worked up about,” his father declared; a wry smile forming on his features. “In actuality, it’s rather amusing.”

“We’re not even on the same _continent_ as _amusing_! Tyrion told me to wait a day.” Jaime turned sharply towards his brother. “Wait a day, you said. Ask her then if you think it’s right, you said. Well during that _day_ , Brienne fell for the direct-to-DVD version of me!”

Tyrion held out his hands; trying to placate his brother. “Jaime, I know you’re angry—”

“—angry; I’m not angry. I just want to hit you, wait a day, and take you to the maester then!”

At that point, Brienne entered the kitchen. She was a breath of fresh air; the scent of sunlight and saltwater infusing the space. Brienne smiled at the three men as she reached for the good biscuits to bring out to their guests. In her presence, Jaime instantly melted. By the Gods, she was the most singular creature he had ever set eyes upon. And to think, they could have been having coffee before going on their second date if Tyrion hadn’t stuck his nose where it didn’t belong!

“Isn’t Jason wonderful?” All three Lannister men murmured words of agreement. “You know, after I ended things with Tormund – and don’t judge me for this, Mister Lannister – but I heard a voice say, ‘Brienne, it’s time you went for a completely different kind of man’.”

As she left the room, Jaime grabbed the nearest implement – a whisk – and brandished it at his brother. “You’re a dead man!”

“Jaime!”

In the proceeding scuffle, Jaime earned a poke in the ribs with a golden cane and Tyrion a scratch from an expensive whisk. While his father and brother re-joined their guests, Jaime remained in the kitchen to cool off. That didn’t last long when this _Jason Hill_ admitted to feeling Brienne’s biceps. Aerys Targaryen shattered upon the floor, and Jaime and Melara left soon after. 

\--

After ignoring his brother for several days, the two finally met for coffee at the _Good Knight Grind_ ; the coffee shop opposite the television studio where Tyrion hawked simple recipes to the masses. But after the two brothers reached an accord, they discovered oaths had been broken elsewhere. Jaime’s new lady-love was sipping coffee with the cheap imitation that Brienne – and now Melara, it appeared – had opted for. After disparaging both (especially that _Jason Hill;_ who did he think he was, cheating on Brienne), Jaime left intending to tell Brienne about the infidelity himself. 

The plan was to take Jason’s place at a wine bar overlooking the Sunset Sea. But when he returned to his home, he found Brienne waiting for him on the steps. “Hello, Chef Lannister.”

“Brienne.” His heart clenched at the sight of her in his home. _Well,_ near his home. “What are you doing here?”

I was running late for drinks with Jason. I called; he told me everything. I am so, _so_ sorry about Melara, Chef Lannister.”

What a pair they were. Both had been cheated on by their respective new partners, and both had ignored their own feelings to check-in on the other. Brienne’s selflessness was one of the many reasons why he loved her. The fact that she brought out the best in him, while his ex-wife had only drawn out the worst, was another. Taking the empty space on the steps beside Brienne, he turned to her. “How are you feeling about all this?”

She shrugged. “Just another idiot to add to the list, I suppose. My dating record reads like a who’s who of Westeros’ biggest fools.”

“Well, they _are_ fools. If they weren’t, you’d still be together.” He grinned; looking up into her eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of blue he’d ever seen. He could swim in them; _drown_ in them. Gods, he had never seen colour before he’d seen her eyes. “You deserve the best of men, Brienne.”

She snorted, but she was smiling all the same. “As do you, Chef Lannister. _Women,_ I mean, although if you wanted–not that that’s any of my business— _Damn._ ” She shook her head. “I meant to say, you deserve someone wonderful. I didn’t want to mention anything that evening because it wasn’t my place, but you were far too good for that Melara.”

“Thank you, Brienne. I appreciate that. In truth, she wasn’t what I was looking for, anyway.” He drew in a deep breath. “If we’re going to be really honest, there’s someone else I’ve been thinking about.”

Brienne reached down and squeezed his hand. “I thought there might be.”

Oh, Gods. This was really happening. She knew. _Brienne knew_! She could sense his affection, his _utter_ adoration for her. They’d exchange a sweet, soft kiss on his steps and then take their newfound feelings inside. He’d cook for her, share a few bites before passion overwhelmed them and they were devouring each other instead. Jaime swallowed as he thought about what the night had in store. What the rest of his _life_ had in store. 

“You were with your wife for so long, Chef Lannister; it’s _okay_ that you still have feelings for her.” _Cersei? Brienne thought he was still in love with Cersei?_ “As long as you still have feelings for her, you know there’s no point in being with anyone else. I know I wouldn’t get involved with a man who was separated – especially a man as romantic as you.”

Disappointment flooding through him, Jaime simply nodded. It _would_ be best to let the ink dry on his divorce papers before he truly pursued Brienne with all the gusto he intended. He would just have to hope that she was still free when his sentence was finally over. 

“You know, one day Brienne, I hope we both find the people we’re looking for. People who are honest, and loyal. People who love us, and see us for who we really are.”

Brienne squeezed his hand; her thumb brushing along his. “I hope so, too. For now, I just have to be content with the three men I _do_ love.” She nudged his shoulder with hers. “And I do love you, Chef Lannister.”

“I love you too, Brienne.”

It wasn’t how he’d wanted to say it. It wasn’t how he’d planned their romantic evening to happen. But Jaime Lannister had said the words he’d wanted to say for so long: through their constant meetings in Tyrion’s penthouse, through their not-date at the Lionheart ball, to just a few weeks back when Jaime had posed as her husband in front of her childhood sweetheart. And Brienne had said the words, too. Perhaps not in the way he’d imagined them. But Jaime Lannister was loved. 

For now, that was enough. 


End file.
